Day out with Thomas

We took Benjamin to meet Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt last Friday. He was super excited about riding on a real train. While we were a tad disappointed with the whole experience, Benjamin still had fun.

 

We arrived super early, so nothing was really open yet. We wandered around until Thomas “woke up.”

They also had some train tables to play with, so we did that for a while.

Benjamin was a bit grumpy, so we didn’t get many smiles from him.

All aboard!!!!

Finally, after waiting in line for 20 minutes (I wanted while Jeremy chased Benjamin around), we met Sir Topham Hatt. Apparently, he is scarier in person than on TV.

Feeding ducks and riding bikes

Benjamin had a blast playing with Grandma Jan last weekend in Bluffton. She brought bread crumbs to the park, as well as buckets for treasures. We met up with my friend Renee and her girls who are visiting from Canada. Here they all are feeding the VERY aggressive ducks. We had to put the kids on the table to keep the ducks from biting them.

It was so great to visit with an old friend!

We also spent time with Nana and Papa.

Papa was so excited to take Benjamin out on a bike ride. He bought a bike seat and helmet. The night before the ride, Benjamin walked around with his helmet on. But, poor Papa discovered the seat wouldn’t fit on his bike. So, he had to go get tires for my mom’s old bike. But, when he blew them up…he blew one up, literally. So, back to the store he went for another tire. FINALLY, they got to go on their ride.

Benjamin is looking forward to round two this coming weekend!

 

Meanwhile, Nana, Abby and I went out for a tea party.  

We didn’t get a photo there, but here we are later.

One smart boy!

You know, it shouldn’t surprise me by now when Benjamin says something super smart. But, it still throws me off guard.

Tonight, we were reading a Bible story. I try to explain them in terms he can understand, like, “A woman did something bad, so people wanted to throw stones at her. That wasn’t very nice, so Jesus reminded them that everyone does something bad every now and then. We shouldn’t be mean to others. When I finished, I said, so Jesus wants us to be kind to others, even if they make a mistake. He chimed in, “and no throwing stones!”

But here comes the impressive part. A few days ago, I started to read a book to Benjamin about Heaven. My mom gave it to us to try to help prepare him for when she dies. I got to the title page, where she had written a note to Benjamin and Abby, and I lost it. So, Jeremy volunteered to read it. He made it about three pages before he started to cry. I think Benjamin was a bit confused by all this crying. Jeremy managed to very quickly read the words on the pages…and I mean quickly. The gist was that Baby polar bear and Papa polar bear are talking about Heaven and how we get there, etc.

Tonight, after the Bible story, I decided to bring up Heaven again so he doesn’t always associate it with tears. I said, “You know Benjamin, Jesus lives in Heaven. Someday, we will go there to be with him.”

Benjamin immediately responds, “But we can’t take stuff with us.” My jaw about dropped. I recalled one line in that book that mentioned that. Then, he asked, “Can I take trains with me?”

I said, “I think going to Heaven will be like going to Nana Papa’s house. When you get there, God will have the trains all set up for you.”

He then said, “And we will go across a bridge. There is water underneath.”

In the book, there was one part that said going to heaven is like crossing a bridge, and Jesus is that bridge. Again, I was blown away. How does he remember these things? God has blessed me with a super smart boy. And, it is a good reminder that he is a sponge. I better be careful what he sees and hears!

Speaking of my sponge, here he is perusing Parenting Magazine. He sees me reading things all the time, and asks for sections of the newspaper, recipes or my magazines.

 

Today, at his baby sitter’s house, she said she was so excited to bring out a book to read with him that he hadn’t read before. Immediately, he started reciting it to her, “Mr. Brown can moo, how about you?” She just shook her head. Of course he knows this book too! It made me smile. She also said he was reading to his friend Ella today, and saying things like “Ella. This is yellow. Say YELLLLO… Look Ella. I wearing yellow. You wearing yellow. Anthony wearing yellow.” Precious!

This is Ella, by the way. We invited her and her family for a cookout the other night since we can’t make it to her 2nd birthday party.

She wears the cutest clothes, and her mom just gave me a box for Abby… so excited!

Speaking of Abby, we dressed her up today and went to visit Daddy at work. Benjamin begs everyday to go with Daddy. So, off we went “to the hospital with doctors.”

The nurses and pharmacists loved the kids and fussed over them. Benjamin was so excited to see where Daddy works. Abby smiled at people, but screamed most of the way there and the whole way back. She hates being in rush hour traffic even more than I do.

Here she is chewing on a towel she managed to snatch in the kitchen. She dragged it around with her, gnawing fiercely. That poor girl is trying to get those teeth to pop out. She is miserable!

Benjamin has decided that his favorite place in the whole world, next to Kings Island (which he thanks God for every night) is Nana Papa’s house. Lately, he has been asking me to mail him there in a box. Yesterday, he climbed into the cooler and asked for us to place him at the mailbox. Jeremy asked if Abby could go too. Benjamin wasn’t as fond of that idea, but figured anything is better than not going. 

Finally, here are a few photos from his exciting visit with Great Grandma Hilty and Grandpa Bob Bob Hilty from Saturday. He was thrilled they came to see him, and he keeps asking to go back to their houses next.

We had fun at Glendale Gardens. There is always plenty to explore.

Letter Factory

I kid you not. In less than a week, the Leap Frog “Letter Factory” taught Benjamin all his letters and their sounds. Before, he could say the alphabet and recognize a lot of the letters. But, now, he recognizes them all, their names and the sound they make. Jeremy’s comment to this was, “They should make a video for calculus.” If it was put to music, Benjamin would probably learn it! That boy loves to sing, and he loves repetition.

So, above is proof of his new accomplishment. Along with letters, he also counts to 20…sometimes higher, knows all his shapes and colors… and he can name at least 20 “Thomas the Tank Engine” trains. OK, so the last one isn’t really an accomplishment, but the boy knows more trains than people.

We are proud of him, and we get such a kick out of the things he says and does. His imagination is taking off, and it is fun to see him making tunnels, caves and forts around the house. Some days, he is a dog, some days a lion and others a pirate. What cracks me up is when he starts reciting books we read to him, and pretending to be the characters. He is such a smart, sweet boy! I can’t believe he is going to be 3 in three months!

Home for a visit

We have been enjoying visits with family members who have come to see my mom. Here is Aunt Mary Beth and Uncle David with Abby!

They brought some fun gifts with them!

We celebrated Jeremy's birthday a little early.

So precious!

Abby is getting so big. She is a teething machine and she is doing so well with body control. Check her out in the exersaucer! She is ready to run!

Took Benjamin on a few boat rides...

And visited with Tricia. This is Abby's classic lip pout. Hilarious when she does it!

This week at our house, we had several visitors as well for play dates. Benjamin and Claire played while her mommy and I got pedicures. Thanks Jeremy for the treat!

They played so well together. Unfortunately, the next play date with another little girl involved sand throwing. 

Forgot this photo up above... 

Back at our house...

Benjamin and Claire played in his climbing dome. They were hiding from the lions. :)

My friend Tammy came over. Benjamin and Dominic played, and Leila and Abby kept each other amused. They are four days apart in age...Leila just has a little head and Abby has a big one. :)

Benjamin got creative with the markers while making a card the other day.He had a skunk stripe on his nose and markings all over his arms. We had a lengthy chat after that. The next day, he found a marker and started in on his own lecture... "Only on paper. Not mommy's bed. Not my belly button. Not my bed, not the wall. Just paper."  

He is so funny. He begged me to go to Kohl's the other day to see the toys. "Mommy, I want to go to Kohl's. Please Mama! Let's see the toys"

I told him OK, but we weren't buying any. 

While there, I snuck in one purchase for Christmas. I tried to make sure he didn't see. But, he heard Jeremy mention it was for Christmas. On the way out, he said, "I want to go to Christmas." 

I said, "Christmas isn't a place. It's a celebration in December. Like a birthday party for Jesus that we celebrate at church."

He started singing, "I want to go to Christmas. I want to go to Christmas."

Finally, I said, "OK! In  December."

A few minutes later, I pulled into a parking space and heard a very indignant Benjamin declare,

"Mommy! This isn't Christmas. This is a store. It's Kroger!"

Kings Island!

It was SO exciting to go to Kings Island with Benjamin today. We had two girls from church watch Abby, and we headed to the park to arrive right as it opened at 10 a.m.
Benjamin and I looked at photos online the night before, so he would have preferred if we went right then.
The first ride we tried was a roller coaster! I think Benjamin was a little nervous, but he was a trooper! He held on tight and didn't once admit to being scared! We are in the second to back car.

Next we did the bumper cars. He saw them on a Leap Frog video and wanted to try them out. Unfortunately, he couldn't make his go anywhere except in a circle.

Next, he rode on an airplane! He really did enjoy it. :) 

Then, we rode on the Snoopy Sky Ride.

And, we tried out this sky bus thing that went up and down. Prior to this, we refused to go on the drop tower ride, which looked and sounded a bit intimidating. I think he would have been fine, but he had too long to think about it in line. 

He REALLY wanted the RED car, but he settled for orange as he rode off on his own. 

Look Mom! I can drive!

The steam engine train was next. Benjamin was SO excited to ride on a train that looked like Thomas.

We don't have a photo from his favorite ride, because we all rode the log ride. He begged to go again, so we went at the end of the trip. He said, "weeeeeeee!" the whole time and loved the giant hill slide.We bought a magnet with our photo coming down the hill. The best part about today was that there were hardly any lines! And, food was only $1 for the end of the season! So, B and I ate first while Jeremy rode the Diamondback coaster. Then, we switched and I  rode.  

B loved the swings, and smiled the whole time.

He also enjoyed the carousal.

Blueberry ice cream... so exciting!

B cried when we left, and he stared at his new magnet the whole way home. You would think he would have napped, but he is still on his high... Next time he wants to try the water park too!